Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
JESSE
S he dropped that bombshell and then passed out.
Two spritzers and she was a goner.
I shook my head and started her SUV, heading for home.
I glanced her way and was unable to stop myself from lifting my hand and running it down her cheek. Her skin was as soft as I thought it would be. Warm under my touch.
She had been on my mind since I’d left for my shift. Before that, even. But for some reason, our calls had been minimal, and I’d had a lot of time to think the past few days.
I had finally admitted the truth.
I wanted her.
She was beautiful. Funny. Sweet. Disruptive and a pain in my ass. And she made me smile.
Few things did.
She made me feel lighter.
I had struggled with the fact that I didn’t want a relationship. She had basically stated the same thing. Mark had pointed out the fact that we were adults. If we were both in agreement that what happened between us was only for now, then why should we deny ourselves?
Saturday night, I had watched in wonder as she sang. She was incredible. Her voice was nice enough, but it was the way she threw herself into the song—strutting around the stage calling out for a hero. Living the song.
And I found myself thinking I wanted to be that for her.
Knowing she’d been on a date tonight made something in my stomach clench. I didn’t want her dating anyone. I wanted her in my life, but I wasn’t sure she wanted the same thing.
I pulled into her driveway, shutting off the engine.
I looked at her keys, making sure I had the one for her door, then I went around the SUV and undid her seat belt, sliding my arms under her knees and lifting her from the vehicle.
She mumbled into my neck as I carried her into the house and up the stairs to her room.
I laid her on the bed, looking around in curiosity.
She had put the bed under the front windows, the wrought-iron-and-wood bed frame intricate.
The closet lined the wall on one side, and the other had the window where her wind chimes hung, their sound light in the night air.
She had an old chair I recognized as Lou’s in the corner, a pile of books on the table beside it.
There was no door to the bedroom, the entire upstairs an open area.
At the top of the stairs, the bathroom was on one side and butted up against mine on the other side of the house.
I could occasionally hear the water running, but that was about it.
I liked to tease her, though. I opened the medicine cabinet, shook out a couple of Tylenol, and filled her water glass, figuring she might need it.
But when I returned to the bedroom, she was sitting up, looking confused.
“Hi,” she murmured. “I hoped it was you.”
“Who did you expect?” I teased. “The asshole from dinner?”
“I hoped not.”
Without thinking, I sat down on the bed beside her, handing her the pills. She took them and drank the water. “Two spritzers, eh?” I asked. “Pushover.”
“I know. I’m not even sure I finished the second one.”
I chuckled, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “I’ll remember that.”
She took another sip of water, then took a mint from a little box on the bedside table. She offered me one, and I took it, crunching it right away. I chuckled when I realized she did the same thing.
“Why was he an asshole, Casey?” I asked.
She sighed and told me the story of him asking her out, not calling as he promised, the odd text, and the change in his demeanor. What he said to her. I had to tamp down the urge to go find him and beat him up. I drew in a long breath, hating the uncertainty I saw on her face.
“First off, asshole doesn’t cover it. Second, you look lovely tonight. You don’t need to wear a dress to look like a girl, for fuck’s sake. You look sexy all the time. Jeans, leggings, even your painting clothes, you’re still sexy.”
She blinked. “Really?”
“Really.” I wrapped my hand around hers, giving it a squeeze.
“And texting to confirm a date is for jerks. Taking you to the same bar he eats in every Monday is lazy. Ordering your meal without even asking is a sign of a real idiot. You treat a lady well. He deserved you walking out on him.” I grinned.
“You should have dumped the spaghetti on his head.”
“I wanted to, but I figured the waitress would have to clean it up.”
“Probably,” I agreed. “Why did you agree to go on a date with him?” I asked.
She shrugged.
“Casey, look at me.” She met my eyes. “Why?” I asked again.
“He asked. He works with Cal, so I thought he must be okay—I mean, he seemed nice. I was feeling upset. You had barely spoken to me the last couple of days, and then you showed up at the bar. And I thought you were going to—well, you know what I thought, but you didn’t.
He was there.” She shrugged. “I just sorta gave in.”
“I see. I have a confession to make.”
“What?” she asked.
“Saturday night, they forgot the sauce. I went back to get it. I saw you by your car, and I saw him kiss you. I didn’t like it.”
“That was you driving like a crazy man?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I didn’t like it either. I should have known then it wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t even ask.”
“Asshole,” I reminded her.
“Yes.”
I lifted her hand to kiss her palm when I saw it. A ring of darkened skin around her wrist. I pulled her hand closer, inspecting it. “Who did this?” I looked up. “Did he do this?”
“Oh, um, he grabbed me when I tried to leave.”
I was on my feet in a second. “He laid hands on you? He bruised you?”
“It’s fine, Jesse. I bruise easily.”
“Do not try to lessen this.” I paced the room. “You don’t hurt women. Ever. It’s a rule I would never break. Ever. And he does that the first time you’re with him? Fucker!” I roared.
“Jesse, please.”
I shut my eyes, drawing in a calming breath. I moved fast. So fast, I startled her. One minute, I was standing, and the next, I was beside her on the bed, cupping her face. “You want to know the truth, Casey?”
“Yes?” she whispered, unsure.
“I’m drawn to you. I keep fighting it, but I can’t anymore.
I dropped in to get wings on Saturday, and I was mesmerized by you.
I followed you to the bathroom and waited.
I wanted to kiss you so badly, I ached with it.
I can’t stop thinking of you. Dreaming about you.
Tonight, I came home, and your car wasn’t here.
I drove to Dusty’s. But on my way, I saw your car at the Watering Hole, and I pulled in, worried when I saw you behind the wheel asleep. Terrified something was wrong.”
“I was just having a nap. I was going to walk home.”
“You should have called me.”
“I didn’t know I could. And I forgot my phone.”
“You can always call me. Okay?”
She nodded. Then she turned her head and kissed my palm. It was sweet and touching.
And turned me the fuck on.
But I remembered her words from a few minutes earlier.
“Do you still want me to kiss you?”
“Yes,” she replied breathlessly.
I bent and captured her mouth, still holding her face. She whimpered as our lips touched, wrapping her arms around my neck. I kissed her—learning the shape and feel of her mouth, then sliding my tongue along the seam for her to open.
Nothing prepared me for the sensation of really kissing Casey. I explored her, our tongues sliding together, dancing, thrusting, retreating. Tracing shapes and dipping deep. I reached under her, pulling her to my lap, holding her close, losing myself with her.
Her mouth was hot, sweet, and wet. She tasted of mint, the sharpness of the spritzer she’d drunk earlier lingering.
I was overwhelmed with her scent while being this close to her.
I fisted her hair, the silken tresses thick and smooth under my fingers.
I held the nape of her neck, cupping her head and going deeper. Needing closer. Wanting more.
She gasped as I dragged my mouth across her cheek to her neck, licking and nipping at the soft skin. I sucked her earlobe between my teeth and bit down, making her shiver. She clung to my neck, then ran her hands over my shoulders and down my arms. “God, you’re so strong.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I know.”
I captured her mouth again, lying back on the bed, her on top of me.
I rolled, hovering over her, kissing more.
I didn’t want to stop. She dug her fingernails into my back and wrapped her legs around my hips.
I sank into the heat of her, my cock desperate and aching for her.
We rolled again, her sitting on top, my dick nestled between her legs.
“You are so big.”
“We’ll fit perfectly,” I assured her. “I want you.”
She rolled her hips, and I groaned. I could feel her heat even through our clothing.
She bent and took my mouth, sliding her tongue in and twisting it with mine, making me ache with the simple act. She was effortlessly sexy. Something that idiot was too blind to see. I planned to let her know I saw it. I saw her. As often as I could.
She sat up, then pulled her blouse over her head. It caught in her hair, and I sat up, helping her. We both laughed as I smoothed her hair back. “That didn’t go as planned,” she murmured.
I caught her face between my hands. “You are beautiful, Casey. You make me breathless.”
She tugged on my shirt. “Off.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to regret this.”
“I’m sure. My head is perfectly clear.” She lifted an eyebrow. “I said off, Thorne. Now.”
I grinned and tore it over my head, tossing it across the room.
“Jesus,” she muttered, pushing me back on the bed and staring at my chest. She ran her hands over my torso, tracing the abs and pecs, teasing my nipples. “Washboard,” she whispered. “Hard and sturdy.”
“That’s not the only thing hard and sturdy right now.”
She slipped off the bed, reaching for my waistband. “Up.”
With a groan, I let her pull my sweats down. My cock sprung up, hard, throbbing, ready.
“I wasn’t imagining things the other night.”
“You are good for my ego,” I praised. I sat up on my elbows. “I want to see you now.”
She paused, then unclasped her lacy bra, her breasts lush and full, the perfect dark-rose nipples as enticing as they had been the other night.
“The rest,” I demanded.
She hesitated, and I called her name, waiting until she met my eyes. “You are beautiful. Every inch of you. Forget what that asshole said. Listen to me.”
She slid her leggings down and stood before me naked. Glowing. Unsure.
I held out my hand. “Come here.”
I pulled her to me and kissed her, sitting up and lifting her to my lap as we explored each other.
Our chests melded together, her nipples hard on my skin.
The skin on her back was pure silk. Her hair tickling my thighs was enticing.
My cock was pressed between us, and I leaned forward so she was supported in my hands as I sucked her nipples, the fantasy I’d had not nearly good enough.
They were hard and tight, and I licked, sucked, and nibbled on them until she was whimpering and they were red and damp from my mouth.
I slid my hand between us, stroking her.
She was wet, ready, her desire evident. I rolled her hard little clit between my fingers, and she whimpered, begging me for more.
“Protection,” I murmured.
“In the drawer.”
I reached over and looked in the drawer. “Two boxes?” I asked, pulling one out. I lifted an eyebrow at her. “Jumbo? I’m flattered, Casey, and I’m above average but not that big.”
She grinned. “The other box is just extra-large.”
I tossed the box back and grabbed a condom from the other one. “That’ll work.”
I rolled it on, and I lifted her, my cock nudging at her entrance. I took it slow, inch by inch, my cock disappearing inside her. She gripped my shoulders, her eyes shut, her body tense.
I brought her mouth back to mine, kissing her. I slipped my fingers back to her clit, rubbing, teasing, and stroking. She relaxed into me, shaking as she opened even more, and I seated myself fully inside her.
I groaned at the sensation. Hot, tight, perfect. She was made for me. “Ride me,” I pleaded. “Use me, Pixie. Make yourself feel good.”
She rolled her hips, gasping at the feel of us.
She leaned back, and I caught her again, holding her as she moved.
Surged. Gripped me. I slid back on the bed, still upright, and she gripped my thighs, arching and taking me deeper than I thought I could go.
My balls tingled, the pleasure building.
She moved faster, and I grabbed her hips, moving with her, making sure to hit her where she needed it.
The room spun as sweat poured down my back.
My breathing was harsh, and I groaned and cursed as the ecstasy built.
She moaned my name, her voice wild. The bed creaked under us, the sheets shifting.
I slid my hand between us again and pressed her clit.
Teased it until she cried out, locking down, her head thrown back as she came.
My orgasm rushed through me, and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tight and chasing the feeling until it was a bright light behind my eyes, my release bursting from me and filling her.
And then we stopped.
For a moment, we didn’t move, a mass of entangled arms and legs. Her breath on my neck. My arms locked around her.
I lay back, taking her with me.
And finally, she spoke.
“Holy shit, Batman. You sure know how to use that hose. My fire is out. Done.”
I had to laugh. “Glad to be of service.”
“Wow.”
Then she looked up, mischievous and cute.
“There might be embers, though. Don’t go far. I might need it primed again.”
I pulled her face back to mine.
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
And I kissed her.